Watermelon! I wrote onanother postabout
the honor I paid it for being one of the key players in gout reliefand
the absence of gout for a year and 7 months. Oh it feels good! What I did not
know about this fruit are the wonders that it brings man. It is full of
clean water, vitamins, and minerals – and that includes the rind.

Did you know that watermelon is considered to be a sex enhancer.
An article in the Battaliion Online http://www.thebatt.com/2.8485/watermelon-may-increase-sex-drive-1.1183663#4says “Eating watermelon delivers Viagra-like effects to the blood vessels
in the body and may even increase libido, according to the
research of Bhimu Patil, director of Texas A&M’s Fruit and Vegetable
Improvement Center.” They wrote this up as a little cutesy article, but the
substance is still there.

Watermelon is loaded with goodies – As mentioned earlier,
watermelon contains mucho water, which makes it very low in calories. And I am
guessing that it is self purified. It is chock full vitamins A and C.
There are small amounts of vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, folate, niacin
found in watermelon. Watermelon has lots of potassium and also contains
minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorous in traces. For those
diet people let it be know that watermelon is also free of fats and
cholesterol. Apart from the vitamins and minerals, there are many components in
this fruit which are also responsible for the health benefits of watermelon. It
is rich in antioxidants called carotenoids, like lycopene, phytofluene,
phytoene, beta-carotene, lutein, and neurosporene. If you happen to get a
seeded one, watermelon seeds have within them a good quantity of protein and
oil. Around 35% of watermelon seed is protein and 50% is oil, along with 5% of
dietary fiber. These seeds also contain minerals like magnesium, calcium, potassium,
iron, phosphorous, zinc, etc. I don’t know if the little white seeds in the
‘seedless’ watermelon count. I hope so!

There have been studies that show lycopene is beneficial in
preventing some forms of cancer, like, breast cancer, prostrate cancer,
endometrial cancer, lung cancer and colorectal cancers. What I read about it
also points to watermelon as being
very healthy for the heart. No wonder I am and getting stronger on
the bicycle. And generally I go full out at water aerobics.

Now
getting back to the sex thing, watermelon contains a substantial amount of an
amino acid called citrulline, which is used by the human body to produce
another amino acid called arginine. It has been found that arginine can prevent erectile dysfunction,
lower blood pressure, and improve insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetics. Did
you hear that diabetic patients? To quote the article above,
“Arginine boosts nitric acid, which relaxes blood vessels, the same basic
effect that Viagra has to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) and maybe even
prevent it,” said Patil. “I knew watermelon was full of nutrients, but I had no
idea it acted similarly to Viagra,”said Jeremy Burnam, a
sophomore Hospitality and Tourism Management major at the University of
Massachusetts. Watermelon may seem like the perfect item to add some spark to a
relationship. However, while Viagra is made specifically to treat ED, watermelon
is not organ specific, Patil added. Anyone taking Viagra should not expect to
see the same result from watermelon, said Todd Wehner, a researcher in the
department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University. “It
sounds like an effect that would be interesting but not a substitute for any
medical treatment,” he said.

In this article about “How to Ferment Watermelon.. . ”http://www.ehow.com/how_5190067_ferment-watermelon-rind-increased-libido.htmlthe author speaks about the different
cultures recognizing that watermelon rinds are edible. The author goes on to
say, “In China, they are stir-fried, stewed, or more often pickled. When
stir-fried, the de-skinned and de-fruited rind is cooked with olive oil,
garlic, chili peppers, scallions, sugar and rum. Pickled watermelon rind is
commonly consumed in the Southern US, Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria.” I
think I will try the stir-version first. Maybe pickling will come later, but I
have seen several recipes for watermelon pickling, and some are as simple as
adding pickling spice to water, salt, ginger, cloves, allspice, cinnamon
sticks, sweetner, and white vinegar. This recipe is highly rated:http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1646400

I love watermelon. It was
good to discover more about it. Plus I must add that in most Alkaline Diet
Charts it is rated as one of the most alkaline fruits – right along with lemon.Watermelon
helps keep my pH higher which also keeps me alive. Sometimes I forget, but I
did have a littledance with cancer. Come to think about
it, forgetting and moving on is probably a good thing.